Jewelry box drawer



y 1956 E. v. MELE JEWELRY BOX DRAWER Filed Aug. 10, 1954 INVENTOR.Edward F/ /e/e United States Patent JEWELRY BOX DRAWER Edward V. Mele,Port Washington, N. Y.

Application August 10, 1954, Serial No. 448,808

8 Claims. (Cl. 312-274) This invention relates to containers in thenature of lidded boxes for jewelry and cosmetics and more particularlyto fine boxes having a drawer actuated by a lever attached to the lid ofthe box.

It is an object of this invention to provide a lidded box containing asliding drawer which is automatically extended from the box by theopening of the box lid.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a jewelry boxcontaining a sliding drawer which is retracted within the box uponclosing the box lid and which has a face plate to seal the closure ofthe drawer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a jewelry box having asliding drawer on which a front or face plate is spring mounted to abuttightly against the front of the jewelry box and the front of thesliding drawer.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following description taken together with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a box according to this inventionin open position;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the box of Fig. l in closed position;and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a box of Fig. 1 in open positionshowing only a part of the box lid.

In general, this invention provides a face plate on a sliding drawer ina jewelry box which is actuated by a lever attached to the box lid. Theface plate is spring mounted on the sliding drawer so as to tightly andlightly close the drawer opening and present a pleasing, ornamentalappearance to the front of the jewelry box in closed position.

Referring to the invention as shown in the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a boxwhich has a main portion 11 and a lid 12. The box is provided with atray 13 and a sliding drawer 14. The box lid 12 is attached to the mainportion 11 by means of hinges 15 as shown in the figures. The box lid 12is secured by a latch 33 mounted on a front side 31 of the box 10.

The box 10 accommodates the tray 13 so that the tray 13 can be fittedwithin the box 10 when the lid 12 is closed. A partition 16 extendstransversely across the box 10 from the front to the back. The partition16 is low enough so that the tray 13 rests over partition 16 when thebox 10 is closed. Tray 13 is pivotally mounted in the lid 12 on a pairof pivots 17 in the respective sides of lid 12. The pivots 17 are fixedin the tray 13 toward the rear of the sides thereof. Another pair ofpivots 18 are provided in the sides of the tray 13 adjacent the forwardedge of the tray. The forward pivots 18 attach a lever arm 19 to thetray 13. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lever arm 19 is one part of alinkage 20 in which a second lever 21 is the other part of the linkage.Each lever arm 19 is mounted on a pivot 22 in its respective side of thebox 10. The end of each of the lever arms 19 opposite the pivots 18 ispivotally connected to lever arm 21. The lever arm 21, in turn, actsupon the drawer 14.

The box 10 is provided with a floor 23 which is spaced away from abottom 24 of the box 10. The floor 23 thus provides an underspace 25 inthe box 10. The drawer 14 slides in this underspace 25, as is shown inFig. 2. The front 31 of the box 10 is provided in its lower section withan opening 34 for the drawer 14.

The drawer 14 carries on its forward or outer side a face plate 26. Theface plate 26 is mounted on the drawer 14 by means of a pair of posts 27which, fixed in the face plate 26, extend through the front side of thedrawer 14. Each post 27 is provided at its inner end with a head 28.Between the head 28 and an inner surface 29 of the front side of thedrawer 14 is a coil spring 30 which is expanded both against the head ofits respective post 27 and also against the surface 29. The face plate26 can be drawn away from the drawer 14 to provide a short separationbetween these parts. As shown in Fig. 2, when the drawer 14 is retractedinto the underspace 25, the face plate 26 abuts against the front side31 of the box 10 covering the drawer opening 34. The drawer 14, beingfully withdrawn into the underspace 25, is drawn away from the faceplate 26 to provide a separation 32 therebetween. In this position thelid 12 is down, closing the jewelry box with the lid tightly fixedagainst the main portion 11. The drawer 14, being fully withdrawn intothe underspace 25, causes the face plate 26 to abut against the frontside of the box 10.

When the lid 12 of the box 10 is raised, as shown in Fig. 3, the linkageof the tray 13, lever arms 19 and 21, hinges 15 and pivots 17, 18 and22, causes the drawer 14 to be extended from the underspace 25 and themain portion 11 of the box 10. In this position the face plate can beseen in Fig. 3 abutting up against the front side of the drawer 14. Thedrawer 14 when it slides back into the box 10 is withdrawn into the box10 by the lever arms 21 and 19. This retraction of the drawer 14 intothe underspace 25 brings about the separation 32 of the face plate 26from the drawer 14 mentioned above and shown in Fig. 2. The coil springs30 on the posts which permit the face plate 26 to be separable from thedrawer 14 and at the same time return the face plate 26 against thedrawer 14 provide the link in the combination of this apparatus whichadapts the face plate 26 to the various relative positions possiblebetween the drawer 14 and the box 10.

In operation, this invention provides the sliding drawer 14 in ajewel-box type of container with the face plate 26 which provides a neatclosure over the drawer opening 34 of the box 10 when the drawer 14 iswithdrawn into the box 10. By the same face plate when the slidingdrawer is operated to extend from the box, the face plate 10 is heldneatly and securely against the sliding drawer 14. In the continued useof the box 10 with repeated raising and lowering of the lid 12, thedrawer 14 is reciprocated with each raising of the lid. With eachreciprocation of the sliding drawer 14 the combination of the face plate26 and the coil springs 30 operate to close the drawer opening 34 whenthe sliding drawer 14 is retracted and to hold the face plate 26 snug onthe front of the drawer 14 when the drawer is projected.

The box 10 is operated by interlatching a latch 33 between the lid 12and the main portion 11. The lid 12 is then raised, drawing with it thetray 13. The tray 13 through the pivots 18, the lever arms 19, thepivots 22 and the lever arms 21, causes the drawer 14 to slide on thebottom 24 and to be projected from the box 10. The face plate 26 mountedon the front of the drawer 14 is drawn against the drawer 14 uponprojection of the drawer 14 from the box 10. The face plate remains soheld while the box 10 is open. Upon further operation of the box 10 byclosing the lid 12, the linkage action of the tray 13 and the lever arms19 and 21 is reversed. The tray 13 is drawn into the box 10 over thebottom 24 and into the underspace 25. When fully retracted into theunderspace 25, the drawer 14 is retracted to a point where the faceplate 26 engaging the front of the box is seated thereagainst closingthe drawer opening 34. The coils 30 provide a spring action riding onthe posts 27 and keep the drawer 14 and the face plate 26 connectedtogether while allowing the face plate 26 to be spaced away from thedrawer 14.

Among other advantages, the device of this invention provides a liddedbox having trays with a sliding tray having a neat front appearance atall times and all stages of use. A face plate on the sliding drawercloses the drawer opening when the box is in closed position. By thuscovering up the drawer opening and by also riding snugly on the front ofthe sliding drawer when the drawer is extended from the box, the faceplate of this invention and its means of mounting eliminate anobjectionable feature of sliding drawers in fine boxes.

The box shown in the figures to accompany the above descriptionillustrates one form of this invention. It will be understood thatvarious modifications of the parts of the box of this invention may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention which is limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a lidded box having a sliding drawer which is reciprocable throughan aperture in said box by levers attached to said lid, a combination ofa face plate mounted on one side of said sliding drawer, said face platebeing larger than said aperture whereby said plate is unreceivable insaid aperture, posts mounting said face plate on said drawer side andcoil springs engaging said drawer side and said posts to provideflexible positioning between said drawer side and said face plate.

2. A sliding drawer for a lidded box which is reciprocable through anaperture in said box by levers attached between said sliding drawer andthe lid of said box, in combination with posts slidable through one ofthe sides of said sliding drawer, a head on the inner end of each of theposts, a face plate mounted on the outer ends of said posts, said faceplate being larger than said aperture whereby said plate is unreceivablein said aperture, and a coil spring on each post engaged between theinner surface of said drawer side and said head to provide a flexibleand elastic connection between said face plate and said drawer side.

3. In combination a box, a front side of said box, an aperture formed insaid front side, a drawer of said box reciprocable through saidaperture, a plate flexibly mounted on the front of said sliding drawerand moving with said drawer abuttable against said front side of saidbox, said plate being larger than said aperture whereby said plate isunreceivable in said aperture and said drawer is capable of being drawnslightly inwardly of said front side when said plate is engaging saidfront side.

4. In a combination as claimed in claim 3 a spring in said flexiblemounting of said face plate on said sliding drawer.

5. In a combination as claimed in claim 3, posts slidable in the frontof said sliding drawer supporting said face plate and a springengageable between said drawer side and said post flexibly drawing saidface against said side of said drawer.

6. In combination a sliding drawer in a lidded box having the lid hingedat the rear of the box, a compartment within said box receiving saidsliding drawer, an aperture in the front side of said box through whichsaid drawer is reciprocable, a facing member mounted on the front sideof said sliding drawer, said facing member being larger than saidaperture whereby said facing member is unreceivable in said aperture, alinkage attaching said sliding drawer to the lid on said box wherebysaid operation of said lid actuates said sliding drawer and engages anddisengages said facing member with said front side of said box, saidsliding drawer being capable of being drawn slightly inwardly of thefront side of said box by said linkage so as to securely hold saiddrawer in position when said facing member is engaging said front sideof said box.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 6 having posts slidable in saidfront side of said sliding drawer mounting said facing member on saidfront side.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 7 having coil springs mounted onsaid posts and engaged between said front side and said posts toflexibly adjust engagement of said facing member with said front side ofsaid box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.21,080 De Boer May 16, 1939 2,060,146 Voorhees Nov. 10, 1936 2,119,313Burdge May 31, 1938 2,404,851 Knowles et a1. July 30, 1946 2,674,511Minor Apr. 6, 1954

